That’s the motto of a dedicated group of parents working to bring a tuition-based preschool program back to Ann Arbor Public Schools after it was abruptly shut down this spring.

Parents, teachers and building administrators were informed in late April that the district’s two tuition-based preschool programs at Allen and Thurston elementary schools were in jeopardy of closing, and the decision became final in June.

The programs had been under-enrolled for about five years and would have created a deficit of about $65,599 this school year, administrators said.

The four teachers in the programs — two lead teachers and two assistants — were laid off. Three have found jobs.

After about six months of research and work with AAPS Executive Director of Elementary Education Dawn Linden, a group of parents and teachers calling itself the “Tuition Preschool Support Committee” compiled a report it presented to the AAPS Board of Education Planning Committee Thursday morning.

Vice President Christine Stead and trustees Glenn Nelson and Irene Patalan sit on the committee.

Allen Principal Joan Fitzgibbon and Thurston Principal Natasha York, with whom the group has been working, were present as well as Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift.

The strong curriculum, excellent teaching staff, well-kept classrooms and affordability offered by AAPS from 2006 to 2013 made the preschool programs the best options in Ann Arbor, said parent Lilia M. Cortina. Cortina is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

The group identified a number of issues with the way the previous preschool programs operated as a part of the AAPS Community Education and Recreation (Rec & Ed) Department.

Marketing efforts were not strong enough to let people know about the program, there weren’t enough open houses and there wasn’t enough of a connection to the Ann Arbor Preschool & Family Center, according to the report.

The Ann Arbor Preschool & Family Center is a free preschool program made possible by the federal Head Start grant program and the state’s Great Start Readiness Program.

Children are enrolled based on age, family income, risk factors and sibling attendance in AAPS.

Operating the tuition-based program through Rec & Ed also made programs and enrollment confusing for parents — and also meant the four teachers in the program weren’t a part of the teachers union.

To open a new tuition-based preschool program that’s more integrated with the rest of the district, the teaching positions would be moved out of Rec & Ed and would be put under the direct supervision of building principals.

The switch would mean that the teachers would have to join the Ann Arbor Education Association — a move that would add a significant cost to the program and necessitated raised tuition in options presented Thursday. Previously tuition was about $849 per month.

“We found it very difficult to continue the tuition at its previous rate,” Linden said.

The parent group suggested the following changes would be necessary from the previous model:

Expanding the program to two years, to accept children ages 3, 4 and young 5-year-old students

Eliminating lunch service and asking students to bring their own lunches

Increase the deposit from $50 to half of one month’s tuition

Add a one-time registration fee of $75

Two program options

Linden and the parent group presented two possible models to trustees to consider that would be financially feasible, based on a full-time equivalent enrollment of 16 students. Previous budgets had been based on 18 FTE students — which the program was not able to achieve.

The first option of school-day preschool would run from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. during the school year. Families would be able to choose a full-day program at $990 per month or half day at $640 per month.

Those that registered late for the program would pay $1,055 per month. Child care would be offered before and after school for an additional price.

Under that model, which is the most similar to what the district offered previously, Linden said there would be an estimated balance of about $5,000 at the end of the school year.

Linden said the balance isn’t ideal — she’d like to see it at about $20,000 to make the program less risky.

The other model would offer a complete-care preschool program from 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. — similar to how many other preschools in the area operate now. The cost of before and after care would be included in the tuition rate of $1,055 per month for a full-time student.

Other preschool programs in Ann Arbor charge about $1,160 to $1,015 per month.

Debating feasibility

Linden said to make the new preschool programs happen by next fall, an aggressive marketing campaign would have to launch by January in order to enroll a benchmark of 75 percent of the program by the end of April. If the target is not met, the program would not happen in the fall.

Swift suggested that that figure be higher to lessen the risk of the program.

“I know there were problems — it wasn’t sustainable,” Trustee Patalan said, explaining that she has reservations at opening up a program that the district has tried before.

Both Fitzgibbon and York said that they’re seeing a greater need in their students to have access to support programs earlier in their lives than kindergarten and that the achievement gap continues to widen among their youngest students.

Patalan questioned if the proposal was ready to go before the full Board of Education in December. Based on the group’s timeline to enroll students for fall 2014, the board would have to approve the measure at its December meetings.

Both Nelson and Stead supported putting the measure before the full board for discussion.

Swift said it would be good to present the preschool plan in December at the same time that the alternative high school program principals will be speaking to the board about enhancing their offerings to build a narrative of change.

“Part of going forward is having new programs. This fits very much in line with rejuvenating AAPS,” Stead said. “The partnership with the community and the parent involvement on this is exactly the kind of relationship we want.”